Carnival Sensation Review
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While looking for something special to celebrate my husband's birthday, I noticed in an email from Carnival, a terrific deal on the Carnival Sensation departing right on his birthday, March 1. It was a 3-night cruise to the Bahamas (Nassau) which was just perfect for us since it departed from Port Canaveral, FL less than 10 minutes from our home. Best of all, it cost about what we would have spent visiting to a theme park for one day. Although the Sensation is an older, smaller ship in the Carnival fleet and we prefer the larger ships, we both had a wonderful cruise and birthday celebration. We had just reached V.I.P. status having booked 10 Carnival cruises so we received a few perks during the cruise to make it extra special for us - Chocolate Covered Strawberries, well-made Carnival Logo Shoulder Bags and cute logo pins for each of us.
First, here are some interesting facts about the ship. Carnival Sensation, built in Helsinki, Finland, entered service in 1993. The ship cost Carnival $300,000,00 to build. It carries 2,052 passenger at full capacity in 1,026 staterooms with a crew of 920. The officers are Italian. The Sensation has10 decks & is 855 feet long Although it runs 2 shorter-length cruises a week to the Bahamas on 3 or 4-night trips out of Port Canaveral, Florida, I don't think that you will miss too much the bells & whistles of newer larger ships. You still have all the expected amenities: 24-hour Room Service, Casino, WaterWorks Park, Swimming Pool, Jogging Tract, Live Entertainment, Variety Shows, Comedy Club, Nightclubs, Karaoke, Library, Coffee Bar, Internet Cafe, Spa, Art Shows/Auctions, Camp Carnival, Video Arcade, Min Golf, Fitness Center, Hair Salon, Adults-Only Serenity Retreat and, of course, Bingo plus much more, too numerous to mention.
Our embarkation went smoothly as there were no long lines that larger ships have. I figured that it would be impossible to find the one person listed on a cruise website that I frequent who was also going on this cruise. I had only his photo on the site to identify him & before we even boarded the ship, we saw him. We chatted a bit & introduced ourselves and for the rest of the afternoon we kept running into each other. Hi ViperUFC (Steve.)
Cabin Review
Ocean View
Our R-32 cabin was fine. It was quiet, clean & everything worked. Bed was comfortable. There was plenty of storage. Of course it is on the lowest deck far from the public areas but we felt that in case of bad weather there would be less rocking motion.